She Smells Of Hazelnuts
by Krik Wetham
Summary: A quick one-shot I wrote up. The Final Battle. I knew it was coming, but I didn't expect it to end like this. No one did. Now, it's dark, and all I can remember is this... She smells of hazelnuts


They were finally here. The Final Boss. The 100th floor. Everything that happened over the past three years, no brakes in between, all filed down to this one moment. And the final boss battle, begins.

* * *

Kirito, Asuna, and every other player that was there, stood in shock to see the final boss. No one. Absolutely no one. Then suddenly, a booming voice spoke out, saying, "I see you have made it this far. Congratulations. Now you may be wondering, 'Where is the Final boss?' Well, you see, the final boss is the only player that could even potentially be the final boss. You see, I Have been playing with you all since the beginning. I am Heathcliff." As soon as that was said, Heathcliff was teleported to the front in sparkling blue light. "However, I am not your final boss. In fact, I'm just an impartial judge in this affair. After all, the final boss is someone you are quite familiar with. In fact, he was public enemy number one since the beginning of the game." With that, Kirito's eyes widen. "You, you're talking about me, aren't you." With that, Heathcliff let out a bellowing laugh, and said, quite proudly, "Always the perceptive one, aren't you. And you mustn't hold back. I will know if you do, and trust me, the end result of that won't be pretty."

Suddenly, Kirito was facing them on the other side of the grand hallway. The Jewel above his head suddenly turned a sickening shade of red, and his name turned from [Kirito], to [Kirito The Martyr]. Other than that, nothing really changed, other than a boost in his stats. His eyes looked dead, as he stared right at Asuna, who had small tears trailing down her cheeks as the shadow of her hair covered her eyes. A countdown started from three, as he said a few before battle words. "Don't give up. I may not be by your side, but I will always be where it matters most. If I must die so the game is finished, then so be it." With that, the counter ticked to 0, and everyone charged at him, and he blurred away. Using his sword, he spins quickly, the air around him being pushed away, inadvertently blowing away the players as well.

When he had some space, he pulled up his menu, and clicked the settings tab. Clicking a few more things, he quickly exited the menu as Klein rushed up to him, slashing at him diagonally. He blocked the strike and quickly went in for a counter attack. After a few strikes, he pushed Klein away as he lost a quarter of his health. Slashing at some players, doing his best not to kill, but not holding back in case Kayaba decided to do something drastic. Eventually, most of the players were down to a quarter of their health, and Kirito remained untouched. As the other players were resting up and healing, Asuna quickly moved in front of them and started her attack. Keeping up her barrage she forced his sword slightly to the right, leaving him open to an attack. She quickly stabbed him in the chest, which made his HP bar drop significantly, nearly a sixth of it gone.

Following up on her advantage, she continues stabbing and slashing away at him before he dropped down into the red, where he raises his sword and knocks it away. Using the blunt side of his blade, he slashed at her stomach, knocking her away, sending her flying into wall, which crumpled a bit when she hit. His health bar raised back into the yellow, but didn't go any farther than that, and he entered his 'Phase Two' in boss terminology. He pulled his second sword out, and proceeded to head straight for the crowd. He blurred out of their vision. When he returned, a third of them kneeled over, their health just a few strands away from death. At this, Kayaba frowned, but said loudly, "Hmm, you aren't killing anyone. I guess that's to be expected. Oh well, continue on."

Kirito just shook his head and returned his gaze to Asuna, who was standing calmly a few meters away. He dashed to her quickly, and slashed, only to be shocked as he phased right through her. An after image. He suddenly felt a huge pain in his chest. He looked down to see Asuna holding the hilt of her blade against his chest. He could feel her warmth, and as the darkness ebbed into his vision, his body became slightly transparent, and had white noise going through it every once in a while. He dropped his swords, and pulled Asuna into a hug. Her eyes went wide with this, but she started to sob quietly. He said quietly to her, "Take Care of Yui's Heart. It will be important. And when you need me the most, I will be there. That, is a promise I know I can keep." With that, he tenderly kissed her on the lips, and he took in every detail as everything went dark. She smells of hazelnut shampoo, and her lips are softer than… Than… Her lips… Soft… She smells of… Hazelnut.

* * *

In a hospital ward, there lies a frail looking boy with black hair lying on a bed. After a few seconds, he smirked.

Just a little hint, there will be a sequel to this soon.


End file.
